What if
by breezybrestories
Summary: Brooke stays to stay in New York after turning down Peyton's offer to come back to Tree Hill. But after months of having Lucas on her mind, Brooke comes back to town to find that everything had gone in Peyton's favor. Will Brooke get what she wants? Or will she be sent back to New York broken-hearted and alone? Drama, betrayal, love, hatred, friendship, and loyalty are all tested.
1. Chapter 1

"Come back to Tree Hill with me and let's just be at home together." Peyton pleaded with her best friend, Brooke Davis after venting to Brooke that she'd lost herself and her way shortly after her move to California.

"I can't, Peyton!" Brooke said into the other end of the phone. "I have a lot to handle here right now and I don't really have any good reason to come back to Tree Hill right now. I'm sorry."

Peyton hung up the phone in disappointment without another word to her high school best friend. She wanted her best friend to come back to Tree Hill with her to support her decision to try and win back the love of her life, Lucas Scott. But little did Peyton know Brooke would be coming back to Tree Hill just not when she or anyone else expected her to.

[**Several months later**]

"Did you hear about Lucas Scott?" One of Brooke's interns was overheard whispering outside of the door to Brooke's office.

Brooke pulled her eye glasses off of the tip of her nose and dropped her pen onto her desk to listen in on the conversation happening between the interns.

"He got stood up at the alter by his publicist slash girlfriend." The intern continued to inform her co-workers.

Brooke's mouth dropped open but she quickly had to regain her posture as her mother, Victoria Davis, walked into her office.

"Please don't tell me that you were actually listening to those poor girls gossiping about your loser of an ex-boyfriend?" Victoria folded her arms over her chest as she looked down on her daughter.

Brooke rolled her chocolate brown eyes. "I just happened to overhear my lovely interns speaking about my wonderful high school boyfriend." She shrugged her shoulders. "And it sounds kind of sad. I feel bad for him!"

"Well you can't seriously feel sorry for the guy?" Victoria asked. "Not after everything he did to you that night he chose to be with that gothic mess named Peyton Sawyer over you?"

Brooke sighed heavily and placed her glasses back over her eyes. "Where are you going with this mother? I am trying to get some work done here." She motioned toward the papers clouding up her work desk.

"I just came to remind you of your responsibilities here in New York at your company Clothes over Bros." Victoria put emphasis on the company's name. "With the magazine doing so well and the clothing line being sold at every boutique, business is booming."

"And why did you come into my office to remind me of that?" Brooke raised an eyebrow to her mother.

Victoria leaned down to look straight into her daughter's eyes. "Because I know you are feeling the urge to go and fly back to that god awful town just to comfort that boy and win his heart back but it never works."

_"She is kind of right! Being the footnote in a Peyton and Lucas love story does suck."_ Brooke thought to herself. "I am not going back to Tree Hill anytime soon, Victoria. I have no reason to go back."

"Can I trust you on that?" Victoria asked.

Brooke shot her mother a look that made Victoria leave her office with no further words to her.

Over the next several weeks Brooke could not get Lucas out of her mind. She'd avoided a few of his phone calls since his failed wedding day, but something sparked in her one night after arriving home from a long day at the office.

She kicked off her six inch pumps at the front door of her penthouse and like she did every night she pressed the answering machine button to listen to her messages while she worked around the large penthouse.

"You have twenty new messages." The voice of the answering machine played back to Brooke.

"Hey Brooke," Lucas' voice began to play over the answering machine.

Hearing Lucas' voice shocked Brooke and almost made her trip as she made her way around her neat penthouse.

"I was just calling to let you know that I am at the airport and I am coming to New York for a book signing tour." Lucas cleared his throat into the phone. "I was wondering if you'd like to meet up with me while I'm there? I understand if you're too busy, but I'd love to see you."

A smile stretched across Brooke's face but her smile soon disappeared when another message began to play for her.

"Change of plans." Lucas sounded slightly less depressed than he had on the message before. "My book tour was cancelled and I decided to stay home. I was really looking forward to seeing you! I haven't seen you since that night in New York. Bye!"

Brooke was sadden as she erased the rest of her messages off of the answering machine, but she couldn't help but smile at the memory of her night on the town with Lucas. He'd come to her after his break-up with her best friend, Peyton Sawyer.

The pair of friends pretended to be engaged for the entire night and for Brooke it will always be a memorable night, but to everyone else it was the moment Lucas walked away from her and chose to go back to Peyton rather than stay with her and work things out.

"We're going to be a power couple!" Brooke squealed in the back of a horse carriage that was carrying her and Lucas through the warm streets of New York.

"But we'll still have the time for a big family." Lucas added. "Two boys and a girl!"

Brooke woke up with a smile on her face as she dreamt of her night with Lucas. Despite her trying, she'd never fallen out of love with Lucas but she refused to constantly be hurt by Lucas' roller coaster feelings for Peyton.

"Welcome to the state of Tree Hill." The pilot said over the intercom system to his flight passengers. "I hope you enjoy your stay in this one of a kind town and if you are coming back home then welcome home Tree Hillers. We are glad to have you back!"

She swung her carry-on bag over her shoulder as she exited the large commercial plane. The smell of coffee and burnt out candles welcomed her home as she walked through the airport of her hometown.

"Oh my god! Look its Lucas Scott." A tourist pointed her index finger as well as her camera phone in the direction of the author of the book, The Unkindness of Ravens.

Brooke followed the point of the girl's finger and found Lucas sitting alone in the airport. She began to walk toward him but as she did Lucas began to run in her direction. Her smile widened but once again faded when she noticed who Lucas was actually running toward.

Brooke's heart broke as she watched Peyton and Lucas embrace in a loving hug and kiss.

"Oh my god! What if they get married next?" The tourist squealed. "I hope she doesn't leave him at the alter like the last one."

Brooke felt tears began to sting the back of her eyes as she continued to watch Lucas with Peyton. _"I guess I was too late."_ She thought to herself as she turned and left the airport with less encouragement that she had made the right decision to come back home.

[**Later that day**]

"Knock, knock." Brooke knocked on the front door of her best friend's, Haley James Scott, home.

The door began to pull open and on the other side stood Nathan Scott.

"Brooke?" Nathan was shocked to find Brooke Davis standing on the other side of his front door. "What are you doing here?"

Brooke squealed at the sight of the tall jock. "I came back home because I missed my little family." She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders.

Nathan laughed and took in Brooke's gentle hug. "We've missed you here too."

"Including my little god son, Jamie?" Brooke walked inside of the large home. "I hope you guys have been showing him pictures of his Aunt Brooke because I haven't seen him since he was a baby and I want him to always remember me as his Aunt Brooke."

"Why don't you ask him yourself. Jamie!" Nathan called out for his son. "Someone is here to see you."

Jamie's steps down the stairs echoed throughout the silent house. "Who is it?" He ran to meet his father at the front door.

"Hey buddy." Brooke kneeled down to become face to face with her god son. "I'm your Aunt Brooke."

Jamie smiled. "I know!"

"I'm glad you still know who I am." Brooke pulled the small boy off of the ground and into a tight hug. "Now where in the world is your mama?"

"Honey, I'm home." Haley walked into the front door. "Whose rental car is that sitting out front?"

Haley's question was answered the moment she saw Brooke standing with Jamie sitting on her hip. Her mouth dropped open and her purse fell off her shoulder and onto the ground at the sight of her best friend.

"What in the world are you doing here?" Haley asked.

"You know you're greeting to your family is so American apple pie!" Brooke sat Jamie back down on his feet so she could hug Haley. "I missed you so much that I decided to move back to Tree Hill so I can go back to seeing you every day." She smiled widely.

"Well you just missed Lucas and Peyton." Haley motioned toward her phone. "I just got a few odd texts from them and I think they went away together."

"Really?" Nathan raised both of his eyebrows. "When will they ever learn?"

Brooke remained silent but the images of Lucas and Peyton lovingly embracing at the airport played back in her mind.

"You two sound surprised. Are they not together anymore?" Brooke asked.

"Well they weren't together last night." Haley answered.

[**The next morning**]

"Rise and shine Aunt Brooke." Jamie walked into the guest room of his parents' home where his aunt had spent her first night back in Tree Hill.

Brooke groaned into her pillow. "Is it morning already?"

"Yup because the sun is out and the clock says that it is ten o'clock." Jamie climbed into the bed with her. "Wanna meet someone special?" He cradled his large grey rabbit in his arms.

Brooke slowly sat up in the bed but her hair covered her face. "I would love to meet someone." She screamed when pushed her hair away from her eyes and saw the large animal in the bed with her and Jamie.

"This is Chester." Jamie was holding the rabbit up in the air toward Brooke's face.

Brooke waved at the rabbit. "It's nice to meet you, Chester." She hesitated before she began petting the soft fur on the animal's head. "He is kind of cute."

"Momma always says that Chester is cute like me!" Jamie smiled. "It only makes me love him more and more than I already do."

Brooke smiled and planted a kiss upon Jamie's round cheek. "I am so excited to spend the day with you while your momma and daddy go to work."

"What are we going to do today Aunt Brooke?" Jamie asked.

Brooke ran her fingers through the boy's soft sandy blond hair. "I have a few things planned for us."

Jamie and Brooke walked around the downtown area of Tree Hill, but Brooke was stopped in her tracks when she came face to face with Karen's Café.

"You must be sad that they closed it?" Jamie observed about the tears forming in her eyes while she stood motionless and stared at the covered windows of the closed up building.

"I am really sad that they closed it but I have an idea." Brooke smiled and pulled out her cellphone to call her assistant back in New York to set up an appointment for her to buy the old café. "You like it here bud?" She asked Jamie who was dribbling a small basketball around the wooden floor of the shop.

"I love it here! It is so big and empty." He smiled widely when his voice echoed throughout the building. "And that is cool too." He stated about the echos.

Brooke turned to the real-estate agent. "I'll take!" She took in the sight of the shop and suddenly felt like she had another reason for coming back to Tree Hill other than Lucas Scott. "Hey buddy, come here." She waved Jamie over to one of the windows, and together they pulled off the brown paper that had been covering it. "I'm glad to be home again."

Later that night Brooke's cellphone vibrated on the night stand of her new bedroom; after buying the café, she'd gone and bought herself a beach home to stay in.

"Hello?" She answered the phone on the last ring after reading that the call was coming from Peyton's cellphone.

"Brooke!" Peyton squealed into the phone. "I wanted you to be the first one to know that Lucas and I are in Vegas and we're getting married."

Brooke almost dropped the phone and fell to her knees at the news of Peyton and Lucas' engagement but she caught herself. "That is great, Peyton." She hung up the phone and threw it back into the night stand.

She fell down onto her new bed and screamed into her pillow out of frustration. She knew if she had come back to Tree Hill with Peyton several months ago then she would still have a fair chance at winning Lucas' heart back, but the engagement practically killed that dream for her.

She rolled over and found her purple monkey lying out of her suitcase. "At least I still have you to snuggle with tonight." Brooke pressed the stuffed monkey against her chest and cried herself to sleep that night.

It surprised her to wake up to knocking on her front door the next morning.

"I'm coming." Brooke slipped into her robe and made her way to the front door. "Yes?" She opened the door and her eyes widened when she found Peyton standing on the other side of her door. "I thought you were in Vegas getting married to Lucas?"

Peyton shook her head and flashed her engagement ring. "We decided that we wanted our friends to be there when we finally got married." She pushed past Brooke and walked inside of the large beach house.

_"Well come right on in P. Sawyer."_ Brooke thought to herself as she closed the door behind her.

Peyton made herself comfortable on Brooke's couch. "I thought you were in New York making yourself busy by running your business?"

Brooke sat down on the arm of the couch. "I finally realized that I missed Tree Hill so I decided to run Clothes over Bros from here instead."

"So you're staying?" Peyton couldn't hide her disappointment from her voice.

Brooke smiled and nodded, ignoring Peyton's tone of voice. "I am indeed staying for good this time!"

"Well good at least I won't have to fly my maid of honor into the state to attend my wedding." Peyton took Brooke's hands into her own and gave them a squeeze. "I'm really glad you decided to come back."

"Me too P. Sawyer and it looks like I came back at the right moment." Brooke motioned toward Peyton's engagement ring. "Maid of honor?"

She'd recognized the diamond ring that sat perfectly on Peyton's ring finger. It was the same ring she'd worn the night she and Lucas' pretended to be engaged to one another. At the end of the night it felt horrible for her to give him back the ring.

"He gave you Keith's ring." Brooke noted about the diamond.

Peyton frowned and looked down at her ring. "How did you know that this was Keith's ring?"

Brooke stuttered and tripped over her words as she tried to explain without giving away too much about wearing the ring for an entire night as her own. "Keith showed me the ring before he died."

"I forgot you and Keith were close." Peyton nodded her head slowly. "It's sad that I'll never get the chance to be that way with him."

"Yeah I miss Keith and Karen." Brooke mumbled. _"At least I made an effort to become a part of Lucas' life while Peyton makes him start a whole new life every time they get back together."_ She thought to herself.

Peyton snapped her fingers in Brooke's face as Brooke fell into a silent daze. "Are you okay?"

Brooke shook her head to snap herself out of the daze of thoughts running through her mind. "I was just thinking about how I want to find a love like Keith's and Karen's love."

"Well one day you will find your prince charming." Peyton smiled. "One day you will be gushing to me about your fiancée and his amazing family."

Brooke remained silent but gave her head a nod. "One day." She knew she'd met her other half in Lucas but she couldn't help but feel as if her chances of winning him back were slim to none.

"Brooke Davis?" Lucas laughed in disbelief as Brooke walked into Haley and Nathan's backyard.

Brooke smiled and playfully took a bow in front of Lucas. "Yes sir, it is me! The girl of your dreams." She said in a fake British accent.

"Come here silly girl." Lucas smiled and pulled Brooke into a hug. "I've missed you so much."

Peyton flinched at Lucas confessing how much he'd missed Brooke. He said it the same way he told her that he missed her at the airport.

"I've missed you too." Brooke smiled and prolonged her embrace with him. "I'm sorry I missed so many of your calls but I was planning on coming here and surprising everyone with my arrival." She lied.

Lucas smiled and tucked a few pieces of loose curls behind her ear. "Well the surprise was totally worth all of the missed calls."

"It has been worth it for me too." Brooke had to peel her eyes away from his deep blue eyes, but his eyes followed her around the backyard as she began to chase around his nephew, Jamie Scott.

"You seem happy to have her back in town." Nathan noted about his older brother's wide smile.

Lucas nodded once and finally looked away from watching Brooke. "It's just good to see her. I haven't seen her in almost four years."

"We've all missed her like crazy." Nathan added with a nod.

"Especially Jamie." Lucas nodded toward Brooke and Jamie spinning around in the garden together. "It's like she never left."

Before everyone began to eat Brooke stood up and raised her glass of wine in the air. "I want to make a congratulations toast to the newly engaged Peyton Sawyer and Lucas Scott! No one saw this one coming but we're all happy for you." She clinked her glass against the plastic cup of Jamie's apple juice.

"Congrats." Nathan and Haley said in unison.

Nathan leaned over and whispered in his wife's ear. "The bet is not over yet! You know that this love triangle isn't going to officially end until one of them is signing a marriage license with Lucas."

"You are still betting on Brooke and Lucas getting married?" Haley whispered back into his ear.

Nathan winked before whispering. "You bet I am! Those two are meant for one another and they will see it soon enough now that Brooke is back in town."

"I agree with you but I think Peyton is determined to marry Lucas no matter what." Haley whispered back. "You saw how easy it was for her to get into Lindsay's head and chase her away."

"What are you two over there whispering about?" Peyton interrupted the couple's conversation.

Nathan and Haley looked at one another and in unison said, "Oh nothing."

Brooke smirked at the married couple because she'd been able to hear Nathan's side of the conversation due to the fact that she was sitting next to him at the long dinner table. She pretended as if she had heard none of the conversation as she went back to playing with her god son who sat upon her lap.

Nathan and Haley's conversation sparked new hope in Brooke. She now felt that she had a real chance at winning Lucas' heart back from Peyton but she knew it would be hard.

Brooke was not willing to throw her friend under the bus to win the affection of a guy, but she'd seen how easily Peyton abandoned their friendship in order to have Lucas' heart.

_"Game on."_ Brooke thought to herself as she watched Peyton run her fingers through Lucas' sandy blond hair. _"I'm giving this one my all."_


	2. Chapter 2

Brooke woke up the next morning wearing a smile upon her face. Last night's dinner with Haley and Nathan restored her confidence in her plan to win back Lucas from Peyton.

She knew they were destined to be together, but sometimes Lucas got blinded by his lust for Peyton or Peyton being just as determined as her to be with him. Some would call it possessive the way Peyton went after Lucas and ruined his engagement to Lindsay.

Brooke knew Peyton didn't love Lucas as much as she did. Peyton just couldn't stand to see Lucas with someone else even if she didn't want to be with him which is why Peyton turned down Lucas' first proposal to her.

She shook her head to snap herself out of her morning thoughts, and when she did she began to smell coffee. Brooke followed her nose to the door of her bedroom and she began to smell eggs as well as the coffee she'd smelt earlier.

"What the hell?" She thought to herself as she pulled open her bedroom door and walked around the corner to the kitchen.

Standing in the kitchen was Lucas' fiancée, Peyton Sawyer. Peyton stood over the stove cooking eggs while humming her favorite songs.

"P. Sawyer?" Brooke asked confused as to why the blonde haired woman was standing in her kitchen cooking breakfast.

Peyton twirled around on the heels of her bare feet. "Good morning B. Davis! Pretty soon you will be calling be P. Scott."

"I think I will always call you P. Sawyer. At this point is a habit." Brooke tilted her head to the side as she watched Peyton turn back to cooking on her stove. "What are you doing here? And more importantly how did you get in?"

Peyton simply shrugged her shoulders without turning back around. "I've been your best friend since elementary school so I know where you hide your spare keys."

_"Remind me to remove all spare keys from outside of my house."_ Brooke thought to herself as she slid into one of her bar stools. "What are you doing here?"

"I haven't seen you in so long and we haven't been able to spend any time together since you've been back in town." Peyton began to make Brooke's breakfast plate. "And I figured I'd come surprise you with breakfast in bed, but you're already out of bed."

Brooke raised both eyebrows. "Well you did surprise me. I will give you that one!" She brushed her chocolate brown hair from her eyes. "I didn't even know you knew how to cook."

"Since I'm going to be a wife by the end of the year I wanted to start learning how to cook for my soon to be husband." Peyton squealed at the sound of the word husband. "Can you believe I'm getting married?"

Brooke pushed a mouthful of eggs into her mouth so she wouldn't have to answer Peyton's question out loud. She'd been surprised that Peyton had managed to stop Lucas' wedding to his publicist Lindsay, although, she was thankful she had because it granted her with one last chance to win him back.

"So what do you have planned to do for today?" Peyton took a seat in the bar stool next to Brooke.

Brooke racked her brain for any excuse to get out of hanging out with her. "I was going to go down to the café and oversee the construction."

Peyton pouted her thin lips. "I was hoping you were gonna say nothing so I could drag you along to scout out bridesmaids' dresses for you and Haley."

"Is Haley going?" Brooke asked out of curiosity.

Peyton nodded her head once. "I confirmed it with her last night but you left so quickly after putting Jamie to bed so I didn't get a chance to ask you if you were free or not."

Brooke took a deep breath and dropped her head between her shoulder blades. "I'll take a few hours away from overseeing stuff at the shop to go with you and Haley to the bridal store."

"You'd do that for me?" Peyton squealed and pulled Brooke into a tight hug. "You are going to make the perfect maid of honor."

Brooke felt slightly guilty holding the title of maid of honor when she knew she would be the one making sure the wedding never happened, but she knew she had to push that guilt aside because Lucas was the one for her.

[**At the Bridal Shop**]

"Soon we will be here picking out your wedding dress!" Haley squealed as she walked into the all-white bridal shop with both Peyton and Brooke.

Brooke rolled her chestnut brown eyes underneath her large sunglasses before peeling them off of her face and sticking them into her large purse. "What color were you thinking of?"

"White of course but then again Lucas and I are far from being virgins…" Peyton gushed.

"I meant for your bridesmaids' dresses?" Brooke shuttered at the thought of Peyton having sex with Lucas. "Black?" She suggested after spotting a black floor length gown.

Peyton walked over to the black gown and pulled it off the rack. "You don't think black is too much for a wedding?"

"It totally fits you." Haley reassured her with a single nod of her head.

Brooke remained silent as her eyes scanned the rows of wedding dresses. She had her wedding planned down to the napkin rings, but something that always startled her about her wedding was that she never saw Peyton anywhere in her wedding. She didn't want to lose her best friend in the whole mess of their love triangle that was about to come to a brutal and heartbreaking end.

"Are you okay?" Haley leaned over and whispered to Brooke once Peyton was distracted by pulling more dresses from the racks.

Brooke snapped out of the thoughts that were clouding her head. "Something about this just doesn't feel right to me." She admitted to her.

"You mean her marrying Lucas? Or you not marrying Lucas?" Haley questioned.

Brooke bit down on her bottom lip as she debated in her head whether or not she should inform Haley of her feelings for Lucas. "Both." She finally answered Haley after several silent moments between the two women. "I love him, Hales and I feel guilty about it but I can't help the way I feel about him."

"You can't help who you love." Haley wrapped her arms around Brooke's shoulders.

Brooke melted into Haley's tender embrace. "So I'm not a terrible person for planning to stop the wedding?" It felt good for her to have someone to talk to about the emotions she was battling with over her decision to be with Lucas again.

"If this were Nathan and Peyton getting married I'd do the very same thing you were doing." Haley answered Brooke but both women's voice remained at a whispered so Peyton couldn't hear their conversation.

"I'm afraid of losing her, but I'm more afraid of losing him forever." Brooke fought back tears.

Haley sighed lightly. "If she is your true friend then she will come back to you after she is done dealing with the hurt this is going to cause her, because there is no way she is going to come out of this without getting her feelings hurt."

Brooke nodded her head slowly and took a deep breath. "This is why I love you, Hales. You always have the best advice."

"I love you too B. Davis!" Haley smiled and whispered into Brooke's ear. "Soon to be sister in law."

Brooke couldn't help but smile at Haley's words. She now knew her best friend was on her side and that Haley was going to be there for her when the shit hit the fan between her, Peyton, and Lucas.

"What are you two over there whispering about?" Peyton finally noticed that Haley and Brooke had been cuddled in the corner of the bridal shop talking.

"Perhaps it's a surprise for your bachelorette party?" Haley covered for Brooke. "Either way the bride doesn't have to worry about it."

Peyton smiled and held up two black dresses that were two different lengths. "These are for you too."

"You sure Lucas won't mind black dresses in the wedding?" Haley took one of the dresses from Peyton's petite hands. "It's a bit dark, no?"

Peyton gave her shoulders a light shrug. "Lucas and I are personality twins so usually whatever I like he likes too."

Peyton's words sent Brooke whirling back into a flashback of her and Lucas sitting on his porch. Brooke had gone to Lucas and confessed her feelings, but also confessed how she didn't feel good enough for him because they were complete opposites. Lucas reassured Brooke that he enjoyed the fact that they were different. In fact it was one of his favorite parts of their relationship. Brooke was able to keep him on his toes.

"Brooke do you like the dresses?" Peyton waved her hands in Brooke's dazed face.

A smile crept onto Brooke's face as she remembered that night with Lucas. "I like the dresses a lot." She kept the smile plastered onto her pink face.

"Great!" Peyton clapped her hands together. "Now go try them on."

Brooke poked her head around the curtain separating her from the rest of the bridal shop. "I think you're gonna like this one." She decided being down about the situation at least outwardly would clue Peyton in on what she had planned for her wedding to Lucas so she was going to force a smile through the entire thing in hopes that it will transform into a real smile in the end of it all.

"Let me see." Peyton urged Brooke to come out of the dressing room.

"Hales?" Brooke called out to her best friend who had been trying on her dress in the next room.

Both Brooke and Haley walked out of their dressing rooms in sync. Haley twirled around the show off her floor length dress while Brooke playfully posed in front of Peyton in her knee length dress.

"I'm thinking instead of just picking one, one dress should be long and the other should be short." Brooke suggested.

Peyton pursed her lips together and placed her index finger on her chin as she examined both bridesmaids' dresses. "Is that what you would do?" Peyton asked Brooke.

"It sure is." Brooke lied.

"Well then Haley you will be in the long one while Brooke will stay in the short one." Peyton declared.

Brooke let out a sigh of relief once she was back in the dressing room. She was glad she was able to finally get out of the bridal shop and away from Peyton. It was hard for her to see Peyton as her best friend right now.

"I better get going to the boutique." Brooke emerged from the dressing room fully clothed in the blue dress and black pumps she'd arrived in.

"So soon?" Peyton frowned. "Haley and I were going to grab some lunch…"

Brooke cut off Peyton. "I'm really needed down at the store before one of the workers makes a mistake that is unfixable." She hugged both Haley and Peyton before racing out of the door of the bridal shop.

"Well that was weird." Peyton mentioned to Haley.

Now that Haley knew of Brooke's plan to win back Lucas no matter what, she knew she had to have Brooke's back.

"Not really. She is just really excited for the opening of Clothes over Bros in her hometown." Haley said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Just like you were about opening Red Bedroom Records here."

Peyton began to slowly nod her head, but something didn't feel right. Brooke has been her best friend for a long time so she knew when Brooke wasn't being herself, but then again maybe she wasn't who she was when she left Tree Hill after graduating from high school.

[**At Clothes over Bros**]

"Move the mannequins more apart than that." Brooke ordered a group of interns she'd flown out from New York to help her with the opening of Clothes over Bros.

Lucas walked into the store with his phone flipped open so he could catch a picture of Brooke in the process of redoing what used to be his mother's café.

One of the interns began to quickly whisper as Lucas walked inside of the store, and this caught Brooke's attention so she turned around.

"What are you doing?" Brooke felt butterflies fluttering around in her stomach at the sight of Lucas Scott.

Lucas shut his phone and slid it back into the pocket of his jeans. "I'm just getting a few pictures of the place and you for my mom. She wanted to know how the process was going."

"Can you tell her that I'm sorry for doing all of this to her café?" Brooke pleaded with him. "I feel so bad."

Lucas casually waved his hand at her. "She and I both agree that you are the perfect person to take up the space of the old café."

"Really?" Brooke turned to stand next to him and her dress brushed against his arm.

The brush of Brooke's dress gave Lucas butterflies but he remained calm. "I'm proud of you Brooke Davis!" He admitted.

Brooke couldn't help but smile at his encouraging words. "Really?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

Lucas nodded his head once and also crossed his arms over his chest. "The place looks amazing so far and you're doing an amazing job pursuing your dream."

"I'm pretty proud of you too." Brooke smiled up at him. "The Unkindness of Ravens did amazing and The Comet was amazing to read."

Lucas blushed a little when she admitted that she read both of his books. "You read those?"

"Well I had to read the first one because half of the book was about me." Brooke laughed and nudged him in his side with her elbow. "But I really read it because I believe in you as an author."

Lucas scratched the back of his head at her statement. He'd never heard Peyton tell him that she believes in him as an author not since they were in high school. Lindsay thought The Comet was about Peyton, but his second book was about Brooke and how his life fell apart when he left and how he still couldn't find that true happiness since she never came back to him.

He figured she'd never come back to Tree Hill because of her happiness with her success of Clothes over Bros, so he settled for Peyton because he knew her love for him would not die very easily.

"You okay?" Brooke asked after several silent moments between them.

Lucas' smile softened up. "I was just thinking back to the night I showed you my book for the first time."

Brooke's face lite up as she remembered the night of their last party as seniors. "Brooke Davis is going to change the world someday and she doesn't even know it yet."

"And I was right." Lucas wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Your face is on every bus stop and bulletin board from here to California."

Brooke sighed lightly. "But that wasn't enough to make me happy forever."

"What is it that is going to make my pretty girl happy?" Lucas asked.

Brooke looked around her purple boutique and then back up at him. "A husband and a family."

Her answer shocked him. Lucas remembered how much Brooke struggled with relationships and how easily she gave up on them, and he figured she'd never wanted kids because she liked having her freedom.

"I have to admit I'm shocked by that answer." Lucas pulled Brooke over to the couch they'd just set up in her store.

Brooke allowed him to pull her along.

"Is that why you came back to Tree Hill?" Lucas asked. "To get that husband and family you desire?"

Brooke's face remained calm as she answered his questions. "I came back to Tree Hill because it is my home and I missed it after all this time away. But yes, I've had a good history of good guys in this town and I would like to find another great guy to marry and start a family with."

Lucas smirked. "Are you forgetting about your romance with Felix?"

Brooke couldn't help but laugh when Lucas brought him her short fling with Felix, her next door neighborhood turned boyfriend. "I never loved Felix and I always saw him more as a sex toy than an actual boyfriend."

Lucas playfully scrunched up his nose. "Every time I saw you two together I always thought about how you deserved to be with someone so much better."

"I had someone better." Brooke blurted out. "I had you."

Lucas took both of Brooke's hands into his own and he couldn't help but notice how right it felt for him to hold her hands in a comforting way. "I was a pretty awful boyfriend to you."

"Are you kidding?" Brooke shook her head. "You taught me so much about myself and most importantly you taught me how to truly love someone."

Lucas looked down at their linked fingers. "I also destroyed your trust in men."

"Only for a week or two, but after all of that pain I soon discovered that you were my first love." Brooke watched him stare at their joined hands. "It just sucked hearing you say I wasn't your first love."

This finally made Lucas looked up from their hands. "I only told you that you weren't my first because…"

"Because I said it first?" Brooke guessed the rest of his sentence.

Lucas gave his head a solid nod. "When I brought up Whitey's speech to you I was going to tell you that it made me realize that you were my first but…"

"Then I said you weren't my first." Brooke laughed in disbelief. "So we were both lying that night."

Lucas laughed with Brooke but nodded his head. "It seems like it."

"But why did you run into Peyton's arms soon after that night?" Brooke asked him.

"Because she was there when you weren't." Lucas answered quickly. "I've always loved Peyton."

Brooke dropped her head and sighed. "Have you ever been in love with her? Being in love and loving someone are two different things."

Lucas choked on his words and had to clear his throat, but before he could answer Brooke's question Peyton walked into the store with Haley and Jamie in tow.

"What are you guys doing here?" Brooke jumped up from the couch, instantly letting go of Lucas' hands.

Peyton held out a paper bag with grease staining it. "We thought it'd be nice to bring you some leftovers and see how the store was coming along. What are you doing here Lucas?" She asked her fiancee.

"He was just taking pictures of the boutique for Karen to see." Brooke answered for Lucas.

Lucas remained silent but nodded his head. Brooke's question was still echoing in his head, and he didn't know why it had him questioning his relationship with Peyton but it did.

He also contemplated whether or not he should give Brooke a hug goodbye in front of Peyton, but figured it would look weird to his fiancée if he didn't so he grabbed Brooke and twirled her around before hugging her. "You're doing a great job! Bye pretty girl." He whispered into her ear.

"Thank you for stopping by." Brooke pushed past the butterflies forming in the pit of her stomach after their hug.

Lucas planted a gentle kiss on Peyton's cheek which made Brooke smile because she knew her question was now in his head and forcing him to rethink things with Peyton which is why he didn't kiss her. "I'll see you at home."

He moved around Peyton and picked his nephew up off of his feet. "You being good for your mother?"

Jamie quickly nodded his head. "Aren't I always Uncle Lucas?"

Everyone laughed together at the adorable little boy.

"Bye Hales." Lucas gave Haley's lips a gentle peck before he sat Jamie back down on his feet. "See you later little man." He gave Jamie a high five before he rushed out of the door to the building.

"Do you think he is acting weird?" Peyton asked Brooke and Haley.

Haley and Brooke locked eyes and once again Haley felt the need to step up and cover for Brooke.

"You don't trust your fiancée? He is probably planning something special for you when you get home." Haley answered simply. "Don't bunch up your panties."

Brooke bit down on her bottom lip as she watched Lucas walked down the sidewalk toward his vintage Mustang which used to be his Uncle Keith's car before his tragic death several years ago.

"Brooke?" Peyton snapped her fingers in Brooke's face. "You see Prince Charming out there or something?" She stood on her toes to get a glimpse at what Brooke was staring at.

"I think so." Brooke mumbled under her breathe as Lucas drove off.

Peyton's stomach dropped as she realized that Brooke was watching Lucas climb into his car. Her eyes began to burn with anger and jealously, and she turned her burning gaze onto Brooke.

"What?" Brooke asked innocently.


	3. Chapter 3

"You're such a bitch, Brooke!" Peyton whirled around on the three inch heel of her boot and pointed her index finger in the face of her childhood best friend, Brooke Davis. "I really thought you've changed but I guess I was wrong about you. I've always been wrong about you."

Brooke's mouth was dropped open and words failed to form into a sentence as she stared wide eyed at Peyton Sawyer.

"I can't believe we are going through this all over again! This isn't high school anymore, Brooke." Peyton continued to shout. "You can't just tell me you love my fiancée and expect me to be okay with it and step aside for you to be with him. That isn't how things work."

Brooke flinched at the anger behind Peyton's words. "I can't help it." She mumbled at first but cleared her throat so she could speak louder. "I can't help that I love him. Okay? Besides you aren't even really in love with him." Brooke took a step back from Peyton so her finger was no longer pointing in her face. "You're more in love with the hero complex because Lucas is always there saving you."

Peyton stepped toward Brooke and reached her hand out to slap Brooke across her pink cheek. "How dare you! How dare you come into my home and tell me that I'm not in love with my fiancee. Who the hell do you think you are? Me?"

Brooke fell backwards and gasped loudly as the sound of the hit echoed in her ears. She shot up and clutched her chest. It had all been a dream, but it felt so real. "There goes my sleep." Brooke mumbled as she fumbled around her side table until she found the on switch for her lamp.

The lamp's light lightened up the entire bedroom and forced her to squint her sore eyes.

She pulled open the draw to the side table to retrieve her eye glasses so she could see as she wrote in her journal, but instead she found her old photo album from high school.

Brooke pulled the purple album out of the drawer and her fingers traced her soft material of name on the cover. Every year she would post a new page in the photo album for her birthday. Most of the pages consisted of pictures of her and Peyton because they always spent her birthday together until she turned eighteen.

She pulled opened the dusty old photo album to a random page. The random page she found was the one of her eighteenth birthday. Brooke and Peyton had been fighting so the photo that year was not one of her with Peyton like the previous pages and years. Instead it was one of Lucas with his arm wrapped around Peyton's shoulders while they both wore huge smiles upon their faces.

The pair was exiting the place where Peyton would usually get all of Brooke's birthday presents the previous years. It devastated Brooke to see them together there. She'd gone there to make-up with Peyton and put all of their problems behind her, but she never got the chance to do that after seeing them together.

Brooke's eyes used to light up with fire whenever she laid eyes on the picture, but now she felt her heart light on fire. This was all now coming full circle. The triangle was about to be cut down into a permanent partnership; Lucas would once and for all end up with Brooke or Peyton or neither women.

Although her guilt was still very present, it was game on. Brooke had never fought for Lucas in the past, so now was her time to fight for the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. The man she wanted to start a big family with. Lucas Scott is the one boy she might lose it all for.

[**The Next Morning**]

Brooke let a heavy sigh slip from her thin lips as the warmth of her coffee breezed across her sleepy face. She warmed up her hands with the sides of her plastic coffee cup.

"Are you sure that you're okay?" Haley was on her way to work and she asked for Brooke to look after James until she got off.

Brooke slowly peeled open her eyes. "I will be fine once this coffee kicks in."

Haley couldn't help but frown at the sleepy look taking over her friend's face. "I can always take Jamie to work with me and have him hang out with Lucas…"

"None sense!" Brooke pulled her god son into her lap. "I would never pass up a day to spend with my smart god son." She held out her hand and Jamie planted a high five into her palm.

"Mom, the awesome duo will be fine." Jamie spoke up.

Haley laughed and kneeled down in front of her four year old son. "Awesome duo?" She poked him in his stomach to make him giggle.

Jamie laughed and swatted his mother's hand from his stomach. "Me and Aunt Brooke are called the awesome duo because we're awesome together."

"That's right!" Brooke wrapped her arms around the small boy and gave him a tight squeeze. "Now have a good day at work and thank you for the coffee, but we are going to be just fine."

Haley stood back up and smoothed out the hem of her tweed skirt. "I need to talk to you after work." She pointed at Brooke.

Haley's point gave Brooke a flash back to her horrifying dream last night, but she quickly shook it out of her head.

"About what?" Brooke questioned.

Haley frowned a bit as she tried to think of a code name about what she wanted to say so her smart son wouldn't figure out what they were actually talking about. "It's about Leyton."

Brooke had to think for a minute before she put two and two together. "Oh Leyton! Okay well I'll bring Jamie with me and he can sit in practice with his uncle and father while we talk about that thing."

Jamie looked back and forth between his mother and his aunt. "What is a Leyton?"

Haley and Brooke both laughed at the young boy's question. Both of the women were afraid that he would figure out what they were talking about.

"Bye you guys!" Haley blew a kiss at both Brooke and Jamie before she rushed out of the front door of Brooke's almost finished store.

"So what do you want to do today?" Brooke turned her full attention onto James.

Jamie was silent for a few moments as he thought about this before he finally spoke up. "Why do you and mama have to talk about Uncle Lucas and Aunt Peyton?"

Brooke opened her mouth to say something but nothing more than a croak came out.

"Leyton equals Lucas and Peyton, right?" Jamie asked his aunt. "Or am I wrong? I'm never wrong!"

Brooke laughed in disbelief as Jamie figured out what she had been talking about with his mother just several moments ago. "Why are you so smart little man?" She gave him another tight squeeze. "I'm so proud to have you as my god son."

Jamie smiled brightly up at Brooke. "I'm proud to have you as my Aunt Brooke!"

The door to the boutique opened and it forced both Brooke and Jamie to look away from one another. A stern faced Peyton walked through the door but when she saw Jamie a smile plastered onto her face.

"J-man!" Peyton squealed.

Jamie sighed lightly and shook his head. "I hate it when she calls me that." He whispered to Brooke.

Brooke bit down on her bottom lip as she tried to hold back a laugh. "What's up, P. Sawyer?" She swallowed the laughter and smiled.

Peyton had gone to Clothes over Bros after she finally worked up the courage to confront Brooke about having eyes for Lucas in front of her the day before. When she'd gotten home that night she'd asked Lucas how he'd seen Brooke.

"I do not understand your question." Lucas frowned as he placed the day's newspaper in his lap. "What about Brooke?"

Peyton rolled her hazel eyes and shifted her body on their leather couch so he could look her straight in the eye when he answered her again. "Do you mind having Brooke around? Is it awkward for you?"

Lucas let out a loud laugh at Peyton's question. "When has it ever been awkward between me and Brooke?"

She couldn't get angry while she was staring at his eyes light up with laughter. "It is always awkward for you two when you and I start back dating again."

"If I remember correctly Brooke is the whole reason we started dating again in the first place." Lucas reminded his fiancée. "That night at the basketball game she told me to go to you."

Peyton's mouth pulled down in the corners as she thought back to that night. "What if she only did that because she wanted you to realize that it was her not me? What if she wanted you to see for yourself that you were supposed to be with her and not me?"

This time Peyton's questions took Lucas by surprise. He'd been wondering that same thing all these years. Why had Brooke been so eager to let him go?

"Peyton what is with the third degree?" Lucas avoided the question by getting up from the couch. "I'm feeling pizza tonight." He quickly pulled out his cellphone from his jeans pocket and began to dial the number for the local pizza company so Peyton couldn't pull him back onto the couch and ask him anymore questions.

"Luke…" Peyton began to reach for his hand to pull him back onto the couch, but he turned away from her and placed his phone against his ear.

"Cheese for you?" Lucas didn't wait for an answer from her as he headed into the kitchen to order their dinner for the night.

Peyton had been feeling clarity about Lucas being over Brooke, but after that it left her even more confused. Was she still sharing Lucas' heart with her best friend? If so then how can she stop that from happening and stop it from going any further than it already had?

"P. Sawyer?" Brooke snapped her fingers in the face of her thin friend after both she and Jamie tried getting the dazed woman's attention by calling out her name. "Peyton!" She finally shouted.

Peyton flinched and snapped out of her own thoughts. "Sorry I was just having a flashback." She explained her dazed moment of silence.

"Flashbacks of what?" Jamie asked out of curiosity. "I love stories!"

Peyton smiled and kneeled down in the face of Haley and Nathan's son. "Can you excuse me and your Aunt Brooke so we can talk?"

"What are you gonna talk about?" Jamie asked, not moving an inch away from Brooke's side. "Leyton?"

"Leyton?" Peyton asked.

Brooke shook her and stopped Jamie from saying anything. "It's a nickname for you and Lucas that Haley gave you two."

"Oh." Peyton nodded slowly but turned her attention back onto Jamie. "We need to talk about adult stuff, okay?"

Jamie scrunched up his face and stuck out his small pink tongue at Peyton's answer to his question. "Can I go play on the roof Aunt Brooke?"

Brooke shook her head. "Not by yourself! We'll come up there with you." She held out her hand toward the small boy.

Without hesitation Jamie slapped his palm against Brooke's and began to pull her toward the stairs at the back of her store.

"What did you want to talk about, Peyton?" Brooke asked once they made it up the final flight of stairs leading to the roof of her store's building.

Jamie jumped out of the door and onto the roof where an old deflated ball was lying. He ran toward the ball and began kicking it around.

"I wanted to talk to you about Lucas." Peyton finally answered Brooke's question.

Butterflies began to flutter in the pit Brooke's stomach, but her face remained calm. _"Did Peyton see me smiling at Lucas yesterday? Did she see us holding hands?"_ All of these questions raced through Peyton's mind. "What about Lucas?"

Peyton was ready to confront Brooke about her feelings for Lucas, but suddenly every ounce of her courage left her body all at once. "Do you think he will like it if I surprised him at work today?"

A sigh of relief escaped from Brooke's lips as Peyton asked an innocent question about Lucas. "Jamie and I are heading over there once school lets out. You're more than welcome to come with us." She was silently hoping that Peyton would deny her invite to go to the high school, because she wanted more alone time with Lucas.

"That sounds like fun!" Peyton said with a fake smile. She wanted to see Lucas and Brooke interact with one another while they thought she wasn't looking and this was the perfect chance to do so. It would give her insight as to if Brooke's feelings for Lucas were one sided or nothing at all.

[**Tree Hill High**]

Lucas stood in the middle of the large high school basketball court reminiscing of the championship he'd help win during his senior year of high school. He and Brooke had been broken up for several months and both appeared to have moved on until Brooke decided to give the relationship another try. For reasons unknown to Lucas, Brooke ended things between them by telling him that he wasn't her first love and that they should just move on once and for all. Lucas agreed out of instinct because he didn't want his heart to break in front of her. The next night he had been hoping that she changed her mind so after he scored the winning shot they found each other. Nothing but love was written in Brooke's eyes but after a simple hug Brooke pushed him toward Peyton. Lucas had always loved Peyton, but he hadn't been in love with Peyton since their sophomore year. But he didn't fight it and decided to give his relationship with Peyton another shot. He fell in love with her all over again, but couldn't shake his feelings for Brooke. Something about them always pulled them together. They were always pulled together when they needed someone the most. Whether they needed someone to cry with or celebrate with, they were always there. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the gym doors open.

"Uncle Lucas!" Jamie raced inside of the gym with his arms open wide for a hug.

Brooke followed behind him with a bright smile stretched across her face, and in that moment Lucas had clarity about his feelings for Brooke.

"It's you." Lucas accidentally thought out loud.

Brooke's smile turned into a look of confusion. "Huh?"

Lucas finally remembered that it had been Brooke at his side when things got rough, and he had always gone to Brooke when his dreams came true or she happened to be there because she knew she was supposed to be. "It's always been you." Lucas said to Brooke.

The appearance of Peyton made Brooke frown and Lucas nervous.

How was he feeling this way about someone who wasn't his fiancée? Why had he let Brooke push him away without going back to fight for her all those years ago? They say everything happens for a reason, but why had the events leading up to this moment happened? They did nothing but screw everything up for everyone involved. Someone was about to get hurt as the truth is finally being realized and revealed. But who would it be? Lucas, Brooke, or Peyton. Could they all end up heartbroken at the end of all of this?It was possible. It had happened before.


End file.
